Help Me
by dogshowgirl
Summary: Castle's mother is going crazy and he doesn't know what to do. He calls Kate, when she shows up she had no idea what to expect. Now, as Martha overcomes liver failure and surgery, Rick and Kate grow closer than ever. As the wedding date creeps up on them, will Rick get cold feet? Will Kate? How will Alexis handle having Kate as a mom? How will Kate handle having a daughter?
1. Chapter 1

**My first fan fic so please bear with me on this one.**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

"Beckett." she listened intently for a moment. "Fine. Be there in 20." and she snapped the phone shut.

Kate Beckett sighed and rolled over to her back. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stepped away from it.

She walked over to her closet and pulled a pair of jeans and a shirt from her closet. She pulled a par of heels on after she dressed. She grabbed her purse and keys off the table as she walked out the door.

While she was walking toward her car, she was thinking about what a pain Castle could be. She walked out of the elevator and to her car. She unlocked the door and slipped behind the wheel. She started the car and put it in drive. She buckled her seat belt and adjusted her rear-view mirror, and she was off.

Once she was done weaving her way through traffic when she pulled up outside the Castle apartment building, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. She put her keys in her purse and locked her car.

She walked into the Castle building and pushed the button on the elevator. About 30 seconds later the elevator doors opened. She pressed the button that would take her to Castle's apartment.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She strode toward the Castle apartment. She reached the door in 15 seconds flat. She knocked on the door and Castle opened it.

"Okay, I'm here. What is it?" Kate asked in a frustrated tone.

"My mother. She's completely freaking out. And I don't know what to do about her." Castle told her in an almost pleading tone.

Kate said nothing but walked in. She gasped at what she saw.

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><p><strong>A bit of a cliffhanger. Okay who I am kidding, it's a lot of a cliffhanger. If you liked it, why don't you hit that little blue button, right down there. See it? No sarcasm intended. I love constructive criticism.<br>BTW reviews make me write faster. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I just got in from a concert with my band a few minutes ago. Trying to unwind, so lucky you. You get another chapter.  
>I'm really excited because tonight we got a standing ovation! That is the first time that's happened since high school.<strong>

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas. The characters + the show belongs to the talented masterminds in Hollywood.  
><strong>

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><p>"<em>Okay, I'm here. What is it?" Kate asked in a frustrated tone.<em>

"_My mother. She's completely freaking out. And I don't know what to do about her." Castle told her in an almost pleading tone._

_Kate said nothing but walked in. She gasped at what she saw.  
><em>

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

She saw Martha laying on the floor writhing like a worm. She then got on her hands and knees and began to crawl around. After that she got on her feet and started pacing circles.

Kate managed to take her eyes of Martha and look around. There was broken glass and lamps that had been smashed surrounded them.

Kate then turned to Rick. "Call 911. There's nothing we can do."

Martha then walked up to Kate and sniffed her like a dog. She obviously didn't like Kate's scent because all of the sudden, Martha bit her. "Ow! Castle!" Rick's mind was elsewhere, but a sharp pain in his arm brought him back to Earth.

"What was that for?" he asked Kate.

For her answer she held out her bleeding arm. "What happened?" Rick asked her concerned.

"Your mother happened. She walked up to me, sniffed me, then bit me."

Rick looked at her arm again, and this time he could see the bite marks his mother had left on Kate.

Rick tried to help her, but she brushed him off. "Have you called the medics yet?" Kate asked him.

"No." Rick shook his head, "But I'm thinking animal control might be better." he finished, all the while, watching the blood drip from her arm.

Kate glared at him, and fished her phone out of her purse. She dialed 911, and listened to it ring.

She finally heard, "911, what's your emergency?"

"I have a woman who is freaking out. She has broken glasses, lamps, and plates. She is out of control."

"Okay. Can I get your name and who this woman is?" the girl asked her.

"I'm Kate Beckett. The woman is Martha Rodgers."

"Okay. And your address please."

"322 Broadway, New York."

"Okay. An ambulance is on its way."

"Thank you." Kate said, then hung up.

Kate leaned back, only to find that Rick was behind her. But she didn't move, nor did he.

They stayed like that, watching Martha act like a lunatic.

Pretty soon Kate heard a knock on the door. She pulled away from Rick, and answered the door. She saw two men in EMT uniforms. She stepped aside so that they could enter.

Kate and Rick watched as the two men walked up to Martha. They each grabbed and arm, and counted to three. On the count of three, they effortlessly picked her up and carried her out the door, Martha kicking and screaming.

Kate and Rick looked at each other. They walked out the door and followed the EMTs carrying Martha. They ran to Kate's car and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

Once there, they took a seat in the waiting room.

About two hours later, a doctor came out to tell them what is happening to Martha.

"Kate Beckett. Richard Castle." he called out.

Kate and Rick stepped up to him. "Yes." Kate said. She was too anxious to notice Rick grab her hand.

The doctor looked at them, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for not updating. I had a band crisis. One of our singers quit right before a big concert.  
>So I had to interview people with my nephews for the job. When nobody qualified, I turned to my sister. She worked out quite well. Anyways, enough <strong>**about me, time for you to get your newest chapter.**

**Disclaimers: Yeah, I think you got it. If I did own Castle, Beckett and Castle would so be together by now.**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

****Kate and Rick stood, waiting for the doctor to tell them the news.  
>"And?" Kate pressed. "Would you like the good news or the bad news first?" the doctor dished them the options.<br>"You pick." Kate answered. "Okay. Well, good news is, is that it was just a nervous breakdown. The bad news is that she will have to be hospitalized for 3 to 4 months."  
>the doctor told them, "If you like, you can go back and see her. She is a little bit out-of-it due to the sedatives we gave her though."<p>

Kate looked at Rick. Rick turned his head to glance at Kate, when he did, he saw the questioning look on her face. For answer he just shook his head.  
>Kate looked at the doctor to give him their answer. "Okay. I think that Rick has had all of the news he can handle for right now. We'll try to come back later this evening."<p>

The doctor looked at Rick and nodded, "Okay." and he walked away.

Kate finally noticed that Rick had a hold of her hand. She wrapped her free arm around his, and leaned her head on his shoulder.  
>"Come on." she told him softly. He nodded and started walking toward the door.<p>

They reached Kate's car. She held the keys out to him, in an offer to let him drive, but he shoved the keys back into her hand. "You drive." was all he said.

Kate started the car and headed toward the Castle loft. Once they arrived she sent Esposito and Ryan a text saying that she wouldn't be coming in today, to please let Gates know that she would like to use one of her vacation days. Espo replied with, **10-4 boss. She said that was fine. You obviously have too many piling up. Espo**

Kate pulled Rick to the elevator. They rode up to his loft in silence. Once they hit his floor, it was Rick's turn to drag Kate. he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with him. He opened the door and walked inside, Kate in tow.

He walked over to the couch after closing the door, and all but fell down on it. He pulled Kate down with him. She involuntarily fell on his lap, but she didn't move. Instead she snuggled into his chest.

He surprised her, by picking her up and turning her around. She looked at him with a confused look on her face. He pulled her toward him and kissed her.

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><p><strong>I know, I know. You all are going to hate me because I keep you guys guessing. I watched the latest episode of Castle, Pandora on Hulu. And oh my god! I can't believe that Beckett and Castle were pushed into the water! And it's a "to be continued" episode. Come on! I can't wait to see how they get themselves out of this one. If they die, I hope that they continue the show.<strong>

**Don't forget to review! Remember, reviews make me write faster!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so some of the reviews I got, one especially, said that they don't think that hospitalization would be 3-4 months. BUT, has anyone noticed how much Martha drinks? I mean, it seems like almost every time we see her, she has a drink in her hand. Not always, but most of the time. Anyway, her drinking has something to do with it.**

**Disclaimers: No, unfortunately, I don't own Castle. They all belong to the creative geniuses in Hollywood. (Sigh)  
>To quote Stana, it's time for them to get married.<strong>

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

When the need for oxygen made Castle pull away, he say Kate's stunned expression. "Holy crap Castle." was all Kate said.  
>Kate was still sitting on Rick's lap, but she didn't make an attempt to move. Finally when Rick got bored he asked, "Want to watch a movie?" He watched as Kate made a face, "Sure. Why not?"<p>

Kate lifted herself off Rick's lap and sat down on the other cushion. Rick got up and walked over to the movie cabinet. He selected a movie and put it in the DVD player. He sat back down and pulled Kate against him.

Kate snuggled against him and watched the beginning credits role. They fell asleep like that on the couch, with Kate cuddled against Rick.

Kate woke to a phone ringing. She slowly looked around, and realized that it was Rick's cell phone. She didn't want to wake him, so she answered herself. When she got off the phone, she woke Rick.

"Rick. Rick." Kate said gently as she shook him, "Rick!" she yelled when he didn't wake. She was satisfied when he turned and looked at her.  
>"Hey." Rick said quietly. "Hey yourself. Umm, you just got a call from the hospital, and they want you to come in as soon as you can." Kate informed him.<br>Rick stuck out his bottom lip and gave her the puppy-dog face. "Do I have to?" He whined, Kate rolled her eyes at his comment. "Yes, now go get dressed."  
>Rick gave her a look and said, "Will you dress me?". Once again Kate rolled her eyes, "No. Now go."<p>

About 10 minutes later, Rick emerged from his bedroom in new clothes. He snuck up behind Kate, who was making pancakes for breakfast. "Hold it!" Kate said as she stood there. Rick didn't realize that she had a metal spatula in her hand. She had seen his reflection before he was 2 feet behind her.

Rick looked confused. "How did you..." he trialed off when she turned around, holding the spatula level with his eyes. She smirked as she saw the look on his face.

About 45 minutes later, Kate and Rick had eaten and were on their way out the door. Kate realized that she was still in the clothes she wore yesterday. "Hey Rick." She said, Rick turned to look at her. "I need to go by my apartment and change real quick." Rick looked her up and down, and he finally realized that she was talking about her clothes.

They got to Kate's apartment, and she went inside, and 15 minutes later, she had damp hair pulled back into a French braid, her makeup was fresh, and she was wearing tennis shoes, boot-cut jeans, and a white T-shirt.  
>She slung herself into Rick's Ferrari, and smiled at him once she was seated. Rick looked puzzled, "How did you do that so fast?" Now it was Kate's turn to look confused. "What are you talking about?" but then it dawned on her, "Oh...a shower, makeup, and clothes. Easy, I'm a girl."<br>Rick shook his head and focused on driving.

Once they got to the hospital, they walked in and the doctor was talking to a nurse. "Ah, Kate, Rick, you're here. Excellent. We have some things we need to discuss."  
>Kate and Rick nodded. "Okay, so. We ran more tests on Martha, and well, it seems as though her liver is failing. We have found that this was induced by alcohol."<p>

"Okay, so what do we do?" Rick asked. "She will, at some point, need a liver transplant. We will keep her here for a couple months to observe her, and if her liver keeps failing, we will do the transplant." the doctor supplied. Rick kept a steady face, "Okay." was all he said.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I got some really nice reviews from you guys. You make my day with them! :)**

**Disclaimers: The usual. Though if I did own Castle, Kate and Rick would definitely be married by now.**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

"Can we go back and see her?" Kate asked. The doctor nodded, "Follow me.", but Rick had to have a say in this. "I actually have to get a manuscript to Gina by the end of next week, so I think we'll just head home Kate. We can see her another time. Kate looked confused, but she went with it anyway. "Okay. Another time." Kate said.

Kate looked at the doctor, and the doctor nodded. Rick took a hold of Kate's hand and lead her out the door.

Once they were in the car Kate looked at Rick. She saw that there were shiny streaks running down his face. She gently took the keys from him and said, "Hey. Look at me. I know that it's hard finding this out, but you have to stay strong. If not for yourself, do it for me and Alexis. When my mom died, my dad took to drinking to make the pain go away. He once drank two bottles of Vodka in an hour. He was emitted into the hospital and was diagnosed with severe alcohol poisoning. He almost died from it. It's not easy, I know, but you can't give up. I won't let you."

Rick turned to look at her and he saw the hurt in her eyes. Kate continued watching him, and he finally broke down and started crying. She pulled him to her in a hug and said, "Let me drive." Rick nodded and they both got out. Rick went to the passenger side, and Kate to the driver side.

Kate started the Ferrari and pulled out of the parking lot. She drove toward the loft with Rick whining in the passenger seat. When they got to the loft, Kate parked the Ferrari and walked to the passenger side to haul Rick out. When she opened the door, Rick had his head leaning back on the seat. She smiled, she didn't want to, but she had to wake him.

She pulled on his arm, but he jerked back. She tried different things, but none of which worked. She finally kissed him as a last resort to wake him up. It took him a moment to respond but it did the trick. When he started to kiss her back, she pulled away. He opened his eyes and said, "What the hell?"

Kate smirked at his reaction, but said nothing. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the car. He closed the door behind him and followed her.

Kate pushed the button for the elevator. It took a moment for the elevator doors to open, but when they did Rick was dragged inside.

Once in the loft, Rick surprised Kate. "So, I know that we've been together together for only about a week, but I like to think that we've been going out for a lot longer." Kate looked confused but nodded, "I want you to move in with me."

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><p><strong>Oh, I know, if I keep this up, you all will probably hate me in a week. But cliffhangers keep people coming back for more.<br>****What will Kate say to Rick's request yes or no?  
><strong>**Anyway, did anyone see Linchpin? Oh my god! I can't believe that Sofia was a traitor! Oh well. I was so hoping that Rick would kiss Kate before he went under the water. Damn! Oh well. I like to think that Marlowe will have them make a move sooner or later. He can't keep up this dance forever.  
>Until tomorrow. Oh and P.S. I want 2 reviews before a post a chapter. Just to make sure people are still reading this.<br>Thanks! **


	6. Chapter 6

**So I got my 2 reviews that I wanted, thank you. Yes, I know that I made Rick ask Kate to move in with him only after a week, but think about it. It's like they've been dating for years. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 6.**

**Disclaimers: Yeah, I think you got it by now.**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

"Ummm-what?" Kate said. Rick took a breath, "Move in with me?"  
>Kate looked at him for a moment before replying, "Yes."<br>It was Rick's turn to stare. He walked toward her and wrapped his arm around her, before picking her up. He spun her around once before he set her back down. Kate struggled to get her footing for a second, and Rick wanting to be a good boyfriend grabbed her. Kate tensed for a second, thinking that he was going to spin her again, but instead he pulled her toward him.

She squirmed, then melted against him. They were shaken out of their moment by Kate's phone ringing.

"Beckett."  
>"Yo Boss. We got a body." Esposito said.<br>"Where?"  
>"14th and Lex." was the reply.<br>"Alright. See you there." and Kate hung up.

She flung the phone on the couch before she noticed that Rick was staring at her. "I got a body. I need to go to my apartment and get changed. I'll be back later." was what she said as she retrieved her phone from the couch. She walked over to the table and grabbed her purse, and on her way out the door, she pulled her keys from the bowl on the smaller table.

Kate opened the door and walked out, leaving Rick in her wake. Kate walked down the hall and to the elevator. She rode the elevator to the lobby, and walked from the lobby to the street were her Crown Vic was parked.

Once Kate got the car started, she pulled out into the road and headed toward her apartment. 20 minutes later Kate was in her apartment, putting on work clothes, when she got the feeling that somebody was watching her. She gabbed her gun and turned around, ready to shoot somebody. It took her a minute to realize that it was Rick who was standing there.

She lowered her gun and walked over to him. Rick was watching her closely, taking in her every move. Once Kate was close to Rick she dropped her apprehension and put on her interrogation face. "What the hell are you doing here?", Rick chuckled at her reaction to him being in her apartment. For answer he pulled three empty suitcases into her room.

She looked at them, then at Rick. "Let me rephrase that. WHY are you here?" Rick smiled, "That's better." He watched as Kate rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I have a crime scene to get to." and she went back to dressing herself. When she got done with putting her shirt on, she went into the bathroom and did her makeup. 5 minutes later, she was out the door, with Rick hot on her tail.

When she walked out the door, she was met by the sight of a silver Porsche. Rick chuckled as he saw her expression go from "I have a crime scene" to "Oh my god I have a Porsche behind my car".

"So...what do you think?" Rick asked. Kate turned around on her 6 inch heels, "What do I think of what?"  
>Rick raised his eyebrows and moved his head toward the Porsche, "Of your new car?" Kate choked on air. Rick walked over to her with a concerned look on his face.<br>"My what? My new car? How...I...forget it." She gave up on trying to ask her question.

Rick handed her the keys and got in the passenger side. She walked around to the driver side and slid behind the wheel. She noticed that the car had lights in the back window, and that there were siren buttons on the dash. she then realized that it was a fancy police car.

She turned that key and put the Porsche in drive. She pulled out into the road and flipped on the sirens and lights, she was going to give this baby a workout.  
>She weaved through traffic and in less than 20 minutes she was at the crime scene.<p>

She parked and walked over to Esposito. She noticed that his mouth was open and said, "You know, that might be a great way to catch flies, but definitely not women." Kate punctuated her sentence by tapping his chin closed with her hand.


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I left everyone at a cliffhanger, kinda. Since I have a band with my nephews, I don't usually have time to watch Castle on TV, but I do watch it on Hulu. Anyways, I watched Once Upon A Crime yesterday, and OH MY GOD! Beckett and Castle were HOLDING HANDS! I wonder where this will lead. I hope that Marlowe makes it go somewhere.**

**Disclaimers: Yeah, right. Never owned 'em, probably never will. Although there was a person back there in my family that was an actress.**

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

Esposito stared after Kate and Rick. He realized that he was still standing, and jogged to get beside Kate. They were just walking around the corner to the body and Lanie, when Esposito grabbed Kate's arm and quickly spun her around. "Sorry boss, but you're not telling me something. Why the _hell_ are you driving a Porsche?" Esposito questioned her.

Kate looked at him and said, "Castle and I got together before his mom was emitted into the hospital. I was at his apartment when you called, I left, went to my apartment, got dressed for work, and when I turn around, here's Castle standing in my bedroom doorway. I finish getting ready while he's sitting on my bed waiting for me. I get done with me makeup and walk downstairs to my car, and what do I see? A Porsche behind my Crown Vic. He bought me a present. Is that all?"

Esposito looked at her for a second before grabbing her in a hug and saying, "You need to know, that if he ever hurts you, he'll have to answer to me and Ryan."  
>When he let go of her, Kate said, "Thanks Espo." with a small smile. God forbid if anyone but Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and Rick see her smile. That would ruin her "nothing gets to me" reputation.<p>

Kate walked over to Lanie, where Rick was waiting for her. She took a spot next to Rick and asked Lanie what happened.  
>"Well, her name is Jessica Simon. She got a single GSW to the chest. Judging by body temp and lividity, she was killed about an hour ago." Lanie supplied.<br>Kate bet down to get a better look at the victim. "Alright. Let's start canvasing." and she walked away.

Two hours later, Kate, Ryan, and Esposito were still canvasing, while Rick played Angry Birds on his phone. Half and hour passed and Kate threw in the towel. "We aren't getting anywhere. Let's get back to the precinct and start looking into her past." At her words, Rick perked up. He paused his game, and walked over to her. Just as she peeled off her gloves, Rick grabbed her, pulled her toward him and kissed her. Kate pulled back, leaving rick looking stunned. When she took a step back, she pulled her hand up and slapped him.

"Castle! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kate asked giving him the death stare. If looks could kill Rick would have been long dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I waited a few days for my second review to show up, but nada. I thought that making you wait would be enough punishment, but I still would like to see more than 1 review.**

**So I got my band situation figured out, thanks to one of my good friends, Melanie. Love you Mels! Anyway, to the story.**

**Disclaimers: Ha, got you guys. Like I said in the previous chapter, I sadly don't own Castle.**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

Rick stood in shock, as it took a minute for it to register that Kate had slapped him.  
>"Why did you slap me?" he asked. Kate rolled her eyes, "You know I HATE PDA Castle. Plus, Espo is the only one who knows about" Kate made a hand gesture from her to him, "Us."<p>

"Sorry baby." Rick said looking down, "I know you aren't ready to announce it to the world yet, but I am. So if I did anything to make you mad. Sorry, I'm a guy."  
>Kate put her hand under his chin, raising up his head to make him look at her, "It's okay. And, don't worry about me. Espo already said that if you did anything to hurt me, that you would have him and Ryan to answer to. And that he would go all, 'big brother' on you, if need be." she said with a soft smile.<p>

She looked toward her boys, who were eyeing the two. "Boys, get over here." at the seriousness they heard in her voice they briskly waled over to her and Rick.  
>"What up boss?" Esposito asked, "Yeah, what's going on?" Ryan slipped in.<br>Kate looked to Rick then back to Esposito and Ryan. "Javi, Kevin. You two need to know something." Kate paused as she felt Rick out his arms around her, and put his chin on top her head, "Castle and I, finally quit the act and got together. Like together, together." She felt Rick release her from his grip, why the boys started walking to her.

When they reached her, they both pulled her into a group hug. Rick tried to get in on it, but Esposito and Ryan, slapped him away. Esposito made it clear by saying, "This is our time, with mom."

Rick smirked about Espo's little comment about "mom". He thought back to the time, when he heard Ryan say under his breath to Espo, "Guy in a tree, mom and dad bickering. Seems like old times." Espo replying with, "Mm-Hmm."

Rick raised his hands in surrender, and walked over to Kate's new car, leaving the boys with "mom".

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><p><strong>Sorry it's such a short chapter guys, I really am. But I'm just getting in from a major concert. My nephews, bestie, and I got back to the hotel room about an hour ago. We are on tour, so don't expect long chapters, or a chapter everyday. We are hitting 20 states in three months. Right now we are getting ready to board the plane again. This time we are going to Tennessee! I'll try to get a chapter to you guys at least every two days. <strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, so I know I said to not get your hopes up for a chapter everyday, but we just got done in Nashville, and are now flying to Chicago. My nephews are passed out on the floor of the jet, and Melanie is in her bedroom (yes, there is a bedroom for every band member on our jet), doing something. And I'm too wired on coffee to sleep. So I thought I would write. To the story.**

**Disclaimers: Never owned Castle, probably never will.**

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><p><strong><strong>Chapter 9

Once Espo and Ryan let go of her, Kate said, "Thanks guys. And Espo, if Castle does anything to hurt me, I'll take you up on that offer."

Espo and Ryan looked at her and spoke. Ryan said, "Congrats Kate. You know I love you like a sister."  
>Espo said, "I'm with Ryan on that one."<p>

"Love you too guys." Kate said when the boys were done with their "moment", "So...wanna ride in the Porsche?" she asked them with a smile.  
>Espo and Ryan looked at each other before bounding forward, pulling Kate behind them. "I take it you do." she said under her breath.<p>

"Rick, Espo and Ryan want to ride in the Porsche. And we can't leave their car here." Kate said to Rick, she made a "gimme" gesture toward Espo, trying to get the keys from him. He saw the gesture and handed Kate the keys to the Crown Vic. Once Kate caught them, she threw them to Rick and pointed toward Espo and Ryan's car.

Rick sighed and walked over to the car while Kate pulled the Porsche's keys from her coat pocket. "Let's go." was what she told the boys.  
>They needed no further encouragement to get in the car. Ryan took the back, while Espo took the passenger seat.<p>

They made it back to the precinct in record time. Kate and the boys walked into the precinct. Kate was calm, but they boys were another story.

They made it to their desks when Gates came out of her office and said, "Beckett. A word." Kate got up from her desk and walked into Gates' office.  
>"Sir." Kate said.<p>

Gates looked at Kate and said, "Why the hell are you driving a Porsche?"

Kate swallowed and her face went expressionless. "I can explain."  
>Gates eyed her and said, "You're damn right you can explain."<p>

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><p><strong>That's all for now. I got kinda tired writing this. We have about 3 hours before we get to Chicago. Might as well sleep while I can.<br>****I'll see if I get anymore done tomorrow.**


	10. Chapter 10

**All done with touring, THANK GOD! It completely wiped me out. I won't be surprised if my voice is gone tomorrow. Anyway, only one more thing before you get your newest chapter.**

**Disclaimers: the author sighs as she types this disclaimer. She had the option to go to acting school but no, she said, "I wanna be a singer" and here she is now, on a private jet flying back to Margaritaville. (My nephews, friend, and my hometown is Santa Margarita, AKA Margaritaville)**

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

Kate kept her best interrogation face on as she tried to explain to Gates why there is a Porsche in the parking garage of the precinct.  
>"Okay so, Castle's mother had a nervous breakdown a few days ago. He called me in the middle of the night saying that his mother was freaking out and that he needed my help. So I drove over there, we got the EMT's there. Next thing I know, we're together. He told me this morning that we've only been dating about a week, but to him it's been years, and then asked me to move in with him. I said yes, I get a body drop call, I leave. I'm getting dressed in my room, I turn around to see Castle standing there, watching me with suitcases in his hands. I finish getting ready while he's on my bed, we walk out when I'm done. And what do I see when I walk out? A Porsche. He bought me a Porsche."<p>

Gates' mouth was open when Kate finished her story. "Okay. Dismissed, now go solve that murder." "Yes Sir." and Kate left the room.  
>Kate was walking back to her desk when Rick walked in and fell into step behind her. He stopped and leaned down on the right side to get a better view of Kate's rear.<p>

"Castle. Eyes off my butt." Kate said with almost a mocking tone. Castle snapped back up into a normal, standing position and asked, "How do you do that?"  
>"I have a relative that's a psychic." Kate chose that moment to stop walking, "What's your excuse?" and she walked to the break room.<p>

Rick let his mouth fall open at the remark. Esposito and Ryan were right behind Rick when Kate asked him what his excuse was. Esposito grabbed Rick's arm and forcefully turned him. "Dude." was all Rick said, Esposito turned to Ryan and said, "Go check on Beckett." Ryan nodded and took off toward Kate, while Esposito turned back to Rick. "What the hell did you do to her?" Rick tried to reply but he was cut off by Esposito, "I told you once man, you hurt Kate, we hurt you. Now how long do me and Ryan have to take you out back for?"

When Esposito finished his sentence, he noticed that Kate was standing right behind him. She walked toward Rick and hit the pressure point in Esposito's wrist to make him release her boyfriend. "He didn't do anything but check out my ass. It's nothin' new, I'll tell you that." Kate said to Esposito, "And I appreciate your concern Ryan." she said.

Kate directed the boys back to work, and sat down at her own desk. About 13 hours later, at midnight, they finally cracked the case. Kate went with Esposito and Ryan to go bring in the suspect, who happened to be the man who shot her. She ordered Rick to stay there, since the guy was a major drug addict, and she didn't want to put him in the way of danger.

They got to the place where he was supposed to be. They entered the building and found the guy. He tried to run, but he was too high to get very far. "I got this." was what Kate told the boys as she went after him. When he slowed, she took a running leap and tackled him. "Gotcha you son of a bitch." She took her handcuffs and cuffed him, "Kenny Trollen, you're under arrest."

When they got back to the station, it took a total of 5 minutes to get a confession out of him. They booked him and threw him in a cell. Kate, Ryan, and Esposito finished up the paperwork for the case. "I'm done." was what Kate said, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

She gathered her stuff and was ready to walk to the elevator, when she noticed something was missing...Rick. Kate turned and saw that Rick was asleep in his chair. She walked over and removed his arm from under his head, causing him to wake up when his head fell.

"Let's go." was all she said to him.


	11. Chapter 11

**WOOHOO! We just rocked Reno! One more thing keeping you from your new chapter! Oh and the bottom part of the chapter is not for little kids. If you're under 16, read the top part only.**

**Disclaimer: No**

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

"Coming." was Rick's reply. Kate watched as he gathered up his stuff and walked over to her. She turned and started toward the elevator. Once they got to the garage, Kate pulled the keys from her pocket. She slid behind the wheel and started the Porsche. She started the car and turned out into the road. In less than 20 minutes, she was parking the Porsche in the garage of her apartment building.

"So Rick. How are you gonna get home?" Kate asked him. Rick turned to face Kate, "Why, whatever do you mean detective?" Kate rolled her eyes at him, "Are you spending the night here or are you going to take the Porsche and drive yourself home?" Kate questioned as Rick started kissing a trail up her jaw. "I think option A would best suit me." Kate nodded, she wanted to be able to walk so she took her index finger and her middle finger and grabbed Rick's ear and pulled. She was satisfied when he was bent over trying to get Kate to stop.

"Don't do that again. Unless...I say so." Kate said with a wink in his direction. Rick's mouth fell open at her remark. "Katherine Beckett, I never." Rick said in disbelief.

Kate walked away, toward the elevator. She rode it up to her floor, keeping an eye on Rick. She stepped out of the elevator (with Rick in tow) and opened her apartment door. She slung her purse onto the kitchen counter, threw her keys in a bowl, and walked to her bedroom. She had barely just stepped out of her jeans when she felt something tackle her. She was on her bed being pinned down by something, she had just one thought. Castle...

When she managed to roll over, she saw that Rick was watching her every move. Her mind flickered back to Montgomery's funeral. She was standing on the podium she had just said, "And if you're lucky, you'll find someone to stand with you." she looked over at Rick, then turned back to the crowd. She started to say something else when she felt the burn of the bullet hit her heart. She felt Rick tackle her, she remembered him telling her "I love you.", right before she passed out.

"Rick... I need to tell you something." Kate said, but Rick would have none of it. "Don't talk. I wanna cuddle." was his reply. Kate went into cop mode and pushed him off of her. "Rick I'm not joking. I need to tell you something" Rick sighed but he asked her what it is she wanted to tell him. "Rick...I-I...I heard you at Montgomery's funeral. I remember everything, the gunshot, you tackling me, you telling me that you love me." Kate buried her face in his chest as he pulled her closer, "I'm sorry Rick." was all she said before she started crying. It was his turn to hold her while she cried. "It's okay. You don't have to be sorry."

About two hours later, Kate was asleep next to Rick. After she had got done crying, she decided she needed a drink. She poured herself a glass of whiskey, and before she knew it, she had polished off a bottle in 30 minutes, and Rick was right behind her with the bottle of bourbon he found.

Before she knew what they were doing, they had already done it. Rick was obviously still sober enough to know what he was doing, and Kate was drunk enough to not care.

* * *

><p>THE NEXT MORNING<p>

Kate woke up with a killer headache. Not just a "I got a little too tipsy last night" headache, but a "that was some party last night" headache.  
>"Oh...Jesus." Kate complained<p>

She ran into the bathroom and threw up. Once she was situated, she called Gates.

"Gates"  
>"Sir, it's Beckett."<br>"What can I do for you detective?"  
>"I was wondering if I could have a couple days off?"<br>"Why?"  
>"I think I have the flu. I'm not feeling so hot."<br>"Of course. You're no use to me if you're lethargic and not wanting to do anything. And we can't have you running into the bathroom every half hour to throw up."  
>"Thank you Sir."<br>"No problem Beckett. We'll see you in a few days."  
>"Okay." and Gates hung up.<p>

Kate walked out into the living room and that's when she saw it. The cushions thrown off the couch, the bottles of alcohol, and the condom. "Oh shit." Kate said under her breath. She took a couple advil and down 3 glasses of water. She started cleaning up her living room. She got the bottles picked up, she put the cushions back on the couch, and picked up the condom to throw away.

She saw something pink on it, and further inspection told her that it was her finger going through a hole. She couldn't believe that there was a hole in it, "Oh double shit." she said.

she walked into the bedroom and shook Rick awake. "Castle. Castle wake up." about five of those later, Rick was up. "Do you remember anything from last night?" she asked, "Other than you told me that you heard me, than drank yourself into a stupor. No."

Kate threw the condom at him and said, "Well apparently you drank too, because you don't remember us doing it last night either."  
>Kate watched as Rick pulled his phone from on top the nightstand and swipe at the screen. What she didn't know was that he had sent a text to Ryan and Esposito saying, <strong>You'll never guess who I nailed last night!<strong> This earned him a call from Esposito and Ryan.

Espo and Ryan were huddled in the men's room of the precinct, with Espo's phone on speaker. "Castle." Rick answered on a yawn.  
>"Dude." was what Ryan said, "Did you do Beckett last night?" was what Esposito said. Castle had accidentally put it on speaker when he answered it. "I know right? And...yes."<p>

The call was cut short by Kate who had heard quite enough from the boys, and it didn't help that she had a hangover. "You sent them a text saying that you got laid last night didn't you?" Rick nodded, "Did you see that there is HUGE hole in the condom?" Rick shook his head, "I could be pregnant I want you to know." Rick chose that moment to faint.

* * *

><p>A WEEK LATER<p>

"Rick, we need to talk." Kate said one Saturday night on the phone. 20 minutes later Rick was at her doorstep. "I'm late." was all she said. Rick walked out the door and to the elevator. She didn't know where he was going, but she didn't really care either. Another 20 minutes passed and he was back...with the best home pregnancy test money could buy. Five minutes later Kate walked out of her bathroom and into her bedroom where rick was sitting on her bed.

"Well?" was what Rick asked.  
>"I'm pregnant." she walked over to Rick and allowed him to pull her onto his lap, "I'm gonna be a mom."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>What do you guys think? I thought it was about time that Kate was pregnant. Let me know via review button.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**So what do you guys think about Kate being pregnant? I thought it would be kinda fun to write in a baby. I've been re-watching the series and so far I think that my favorite episodes are: Little girl lost...A death in the family...Deep in death...The double down...and Vampire weekend. Trivia: what episodes are you're most favorite? The ones that make you slide off the couch laughing or the ones that keep you on the edge of your seat. Those are your 2 categories, I expect an answer in your reviews.**

**Disclaimers: The usual.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

"Rick...How I am going to do this?" Kate said through the tears. After about half an hour of Rick holding Kate, she decided to go sit on the couch. 10 minutes after that decision, Kate started to cry. She was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, crying into the cushions. Rick was right beside her, he tried once to pull her up into a sitting position, but quickly learned to leave her be, when she slapped him. So instead he just laid down beside her, while Kate laid face down on the couch.

"It's okay Kate." Rick said reassuringly, "I'll be right there with you. No matter what happens. I promise." Rick tried to keep a strong facade in front of Kate, but on the inside, he was totally freaking out.

After about 2 and half hours of continuously crying, Kate fell asleep. Rick got up and moved, thinking that she would probably want to stretch out. Rick was watching Star Wars, and was 3/4 of the way through, when Kate woke up. She had woken up coughing because she had started to cry in her sleep, and had choked. Rick ran over to Kate. He sat down beside her, and pulled her into a sitting position.

Kate finally calmed down and could breathe. She got up off the couch and walked into her bedroom and Rick followed her. "Rick...just leave me alone right now. I need to figure out what kind of a mess I got myself into." Rick just simply nodded and said, "Okay. When you're ready to talk, call me."

Kate listened to her front door close. She grabbed her phone and dialed Lanie's number.

"Hey girl!"  
>"Hey Lanie. Do you have anything going on right now?"<br>"No, why?"  
>"Can you come over to my place? I need to talk to you...in person."<br>"Okay, sure. I'll be there in 20."  
>"Thanks Lanie."<br>"No problem."

True to her word, 20 minutes later Lanie arrived at Kate's. Once Lanie and Kate were situated on the couch, Lanie began the interrogation for information.

"So spill...what's going on?"  
>"I'm pregnant."<p>

That was all it took for Lanie to grab Kate in a hug.

"Who's the father?"  
>"Castle."<p>

Lanie squealed in delight, and once again grabbed Kate.  
>"Girl, we need to get you a doctor appointment."<p>

Kate agreed and called her doctor. Lanie and Kate decided it was best to keep this appointment from Rick.

* * *

><p>THREE DAYS LATER - AT THE APPOINTMENT<p>

"Kate." the nurse called. Lanie had agreed to come for moral support.  
>"That's me." Kate said.<p>

The nurse took Kate and Lanie back to the exam room. The doctor came in and confirmed that the test was right, that Kate was pregnant.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you guys think?<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**So sorry it took me so long to update...I've been busy with band stuff. I got really bored today...I have no band stuff to work on right now, and I just got back with Melanie from getting mani-pedis. Since neither of us play an instrument, we keep our nails pretty. Could anyone believe that Castle is on a rebound with a flight attendant? I was so hoping that Castle would just kiss her. I mean Marlowe has had them dancing around each other since season 2. Come on, all the hand holding that's been going on in this season, then Castle had to go and find out from the interrogation room. Then he leaves, then he wants to talk with her the next day, then when Beckett invites the boys out for a drink and Espo and Ryan say no Castle runs away, and now he's (to quote Lanie) probably "getting his freak on" with Jacenda. I'm done with my rant...for now. Anyway, here's your new chapter.**

**Disclaimers: You know.**

* * *

><p>Kate paced her living room floor, waiting for Rick to pick up his phone. She waited another minute before his voice mail kicked in, "Damn it." Kate cursed under her breath. she tried 2 more times before she finally gave up. "Screw it, I'm going to the precinct." Kate said.<p>

Half an hour later, Kate walked into the precinct. She walked into Gates' office and addressed her.

"Sir. We need to talk."  
>Gates looked up from her computer, "Okay."<br>"I found out that I'm pregnant."  
>"Really?"<br>Kate nodded.  
>"By who?"<br>"Umm...Castle."  
>"If you don't mind me asking, how long has," Gates waved her hand at Kate, "this, been going on?"<br>"We've been going out since about...2 months ago."  
>"Ah. How far along are you?"<br>"4 weeks."  
>"So you will be needing maternity leave soon I suppose?"<br>"I don't really want to leave, so I was thinking desk duty. My doctor said that I could still go out in the field until I'm about 6 months along...but I have to have backup."  
>"Okay. Well, that's fine with me. Go help your team. And since Castle hasn't been in here recently, get Esposito to team up with you. Include Ryan also."<br>"Yes Sir."

As Kate walked out into the bullpen, Espo and Ryan rushed over to her and grabbed her in a hug. "Beckett!" they both chorused "Guys. Chill out. You act like you haven't seen me in an eternity." Kate said on a laugh. The boys immediately released her, "Sorry Boss." Ryan said, looking down. "We just missed you that's all Beckett." Espo said.

Kate laughed at them and gave them a hug on her terms. "Hey guys." Kate said as the boys started walking away, "Can we talk for a minute?"  
>The boys turned around, surprised at the lack of confidence in her voice. "Sure." Espo said.<p>

Kate walked toward the break room with the boys following her. Once they were all there, Kate started breaking the news.

"So...I have some news for you."  
>"Okay." the boys said in unison.<br>"I'm a...I'm kinda, a little bit...pregnant?"  
>Both boys' expressions changed immediately.<br>"Really? I'm gonna be an uncle!" Espo proclaimed proudly.  
>"Me too!" Ryan exclaimed<p>

Once the boys calmed down enough to get back to work, Kate told them to finish their paperwork.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for such a short chapter. I wasn't really in the writing spirit, but I didn't want to loose any of my "fans"<strong>  
><strong>And if I got any of the pregnancy stuff wrong, I apologize.<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**So so so so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. So, me, my best friend, and my boys were playing a concert in D.C.. We finish the concert and walk to the front of the stage to do our habitual sign-off (we all walk to the front of the stage, hold hands, bow and come back up, with our arms up), and this crazy fan runs up on stage and tries to hug us from behind, me and Melanie had self-defense training, so we automatically elbow the guy, and he pushes all of us off stage (the stage is five foot tall from the ground to the actual stage). I ended up with a sprained wrist, two fingers popped out of place, a broken arm, and fractured collar bone. Melanie got a sprained wrist, a broken arm, and broken rib. Triston had a broken leg, severely sprained ankle, and a broken toe. Caleb got a shoulder thrown out of place and a broken wrist. And Levi got an elbow out of place, and three broken fingers. So you can see why I haven't updated in so long. And don't worry MiniWriter305, Martha will make an appearance soon.**

**Disclaimers: Yeah, because Andrew Marlowe is totally a twenty-three year old girl, that can hit an F sharp note, and break glass with her voice alone. (Rolls eyes)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

"Yes boss." The boys said in unison

An hour later, Kate found herself curled up on the couch in a ball, trying to ignore the pains she was having.  
>She eventually fell into an uncomfortable sleep on the couch, watching Grey's Anatomy. She was woken by Rick walking into the loft.<p>

When he rounded the couch, he saw Kate sprawled awkwardly, with half of her body hanging off the edge, and the other half propped up against the arm.  
>"Kate. Kate." Rick said, when he got no answer, he started to panic, "Kate!" he was able to calm down when she woke. But the panic was soon back when Kate doubled over in pain, and drew her feet up onto the couch.<p>

"Kate, are you alright?" stupid, he thought, of course she's not alright. Since Kate was wearing one of his larger T-shirts and underwear, Rick could see blood trailing down her legs. Only then did he notice the huge pool of blood at the foot of the couch, and how pale Kate was.

By now Rick was about ready to curl up in a corner and start rocking back and forth, he was freaking out so much. He ran into their bedroom and grabbed a pair of Kate's sweatpants. He didn't pay any attention to Kate's moans of protest. He somehow managed to stuff Kate into the pants, grab her purse and her badge, ran back to the couch, picked Kate up and carried her out the door in 5 minutes.

Rick placed her in the passenger seat of the Ferrari and he slid in behind the wheel.

Once they were in the hospital, Rick dug through Kate's purse and pulled out her badge. "Hi, I'm Rick Castle. I came home this afternoon and found my girlfriend Kate, bleeding. There was a fairly large pool of blood on the floor. Oh, and she's with the NYPD." Rick said, handing the nurse Kate's badge.

The nurse inspected Kate's badge, then paged a doctor. They were taken back almost immediately.

45 minutes later, the doctor just confirmed Rick's fears. "I'm sorry Ms. Beckett, but you've had a miscarriage."


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone, another chapter for you. So in the last chapter, if you guys read my AN, you know about how one of our crazy fans pushed us off the stage. We were told by the doctor that we couldn't play for up to 2 1/2 months. Something about "you have to let your bodies heal" or some crap like that. And some exciting news...we have reached the 200 + mark on story alerts! Thanks guys, you make my day! Anyway, to your next chapter :)**

**Disclaimers: Ha Ha, very funny, almost made me believe that I own the show. HA! Right...**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15<p>

Kate didn't say anything, but Rick knew that she wanted to get the hell out of there. The doctor gave Rick a prescription for Kate, Rick got the release papers, and Kate couldn't sign them fast enough.

Once they were out of the hospital and in the Ferrari, Kate became furious.  
>"You have got to be freaking kidding me!" Kate yelled. Rick looked over at Kate because of her outburst and saw tear streaks running down her face. Her expression was pure steel, but there were tears anyway.<p>

When they were back in the loft, Kate made a beeline for the couch.

She curled up and in ball, taking up half of the couch. Kate turned on the TV and saw that Temptation Lane was on. She watched the episode, while Rick scrubbed Kate's blood from the floor. When Rick decided that the floor was clean enough, he went to the kitchen, rinsed out the bloody cloth, washed Kate's blood residue from his hands, and walked into their bedroom. He changed into shorts as it was getting pretty hot outside, and walked back into the living room. He joined Kate on the couch, and watched her watch Temptation Lane.

About twenty minutes later, Kate finally noticed Rick sitting next to her. She crawled closer to him, and snuggled into his side.  
>Kate finally decided that she was getting too hot, and pulled off her sweatpants. Leaving her in one of Rick's shirts.<p>

Another 2 hours went by, and that's when Rick noticed Kate's breathing slow up and even out. Rick gently moved Kate, so that he could get up.  
>Once he was up, he went into the kitchen to make dinner. He figured that Kate wouldn't want anything heavy, so he made mac N cheese.<br>When "dinner" was done, Rick went over to wake up Kate.

"Kate." Rick said. When she didn't respond, Rick shook her and said her name louder. Kate wasn't used to this kind of wake up call, and it startled her. Rick's little idea of waking Kate up, landed him with a kick to the stomach. By the time Kate realized where she was, and who she just sleep attacked, Rick was on the floor.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry Rick." Kate said as she laughed. It took Rick another minute to get himself up off the floor. "Yeah well, if you're so sorry then why are you laughing?" Kate finally got a control on her laughter, "Because...all of the serious boyfriends that I've ever had, have tried to wake me up that way. Ever since I got out of the academy, I've been very alert, even when I sleep. So, I have fallen asleep on each boyfriend's couch at least once. And they all tried to wake me up the same way. And they all got the same thing." By now Kate was laughing again, "Except Tommy. Tommy was the unlucky winner." Rick looked confused, "My foot collided with his groin. He was on the ground for half an hour."

Rick involuntarily crossed his legs at the thought. "Dinner's ready if you want some." Rick said as he went to get himself a bowl of mac N cheese. When he came back to the couch, Kate was whimpering.

"Kate...what's wrong?" Rick asked. "Stomach." was all Kate replied with. Rick quickly got up off the couch and ran to their bedroom. When he returned to Kate, he had a pill bottle in his hand. He shook out two of the little white pills and handed them to her. He also handed her the glass of water he brought over for her.

"Thanks." Kate said before she fell asleep again.

"Damn. This little suckers work fast." Rick said quietly.


	16. Chapter 16

**Lucky you. Since I can't play, I might as well write. There's no new Castle...Heartland I can't watch anymore...Grey's Anatomy is getting dull...and I finished watching the series of ****How I Met Your Mother. The doctors have my whole entire left hand wrapped up, so I can only write with my right, so it takes a while to finish a chapter, but hey - I got lots of time. Curse you crazy fan wherever you are!**

**Disclaimers: If I owned Castle do you think I would have a sprained wrist, two dislocated fingers, a broken arm, and a fractured collar bone? Didn't think so.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16<p>

Rick had fallen asleep himself right around midnight, with Kate sprawled over his lap. When he woke, he felt a weight missing. He blindly moved his hand around on his lap, but she wasn't there. There was no Kate on his lap. He started to panic because she wasn't there. But when he walked into their bedroom, a wave of relief washed over him, as he heard the shower being turned off.

Rick knocked on the door before entering. When he opened the door, all of the steam cleared out of the room, and there stood...Lanie. Lanie was standing there, trying to get a towel wrapped around her, so that Rick couldn't see anything. And then there was Kate. Sitting on the toilet (with the lid closed), staring at Rick.

"Writer-boy get your ass out of here!" Lanie screamed at Rick. Rick only then realized that it was Lanie. He quickly looked down muttered a "sorry" and quickly closed the door.

Twenty minutes later, out walked Lanie and Kate. "So...Kate. Mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" Rick questioned. That's when Lanie stepped in,  
>"Writer-boy cool your jets. Kate asked me to come over, she told me she was having a hard time. So I came over, I found her cryin' on the bed. I asked her what was wrong, all she said was 'my fault...all my fault'. Once I got her calmed down enough she told me about the miscarriage. I had come here in my pajamas, and I was really startin' to sweat...so I got in the shower, and Kate came in the bathroom with me. And so she sat on the toilet talking while I was in the shower, and just as I stepped out, you walked in! So don't go gettin' all pissed at my girl just because she was in the bathroom with me. Lots of girls do that. Completely normal."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know, short chapter, but I'm not really a big "long chapter" person. But when I started this chapter, I was feeling a little bad, and I just almost threw up on my laptop. I ate something that looked really good, but had gone bad. And now I have some sort of stomach thing going on. I swear to god...it's like the universe has it out for me or something.<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone...sorry I haven't updated in a while. The doctors gave me, my best friend, and my nephews the all clear to play again. So yes, we abused our power and we played for like...what was it? 9 hours straight. Something like that. So, forgive me for keeping you guys hanging. Yes, Miniwriter305 Martha will be making an appearance in this chapter. Let me know you guys like it! And who else can't wait for Always?**

**Disclaimers: If I owned Castle, I wouldn't be writing this story right now.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17<p>

Rick looked down at the ground, feeling stupid. Duh...of course that's what Lanie and Kate were doing. Talking. "Man I'm an idiot!" he thought.

By now Lanie was going through Kate's side of the closet, looking for an outfit. "Here we go." Lanie exclaimed.  
>Kate walked over to Lanie, "What did you find?" "A pair of pants and a purple shirt from your chubby years."<br>Rick overheard the last part of Lanie's sentence. He walked over to where the 2 women were standing.  
>"Kate went through chubby years?" he asked. Lanie took it upon herself to fill him in. "Oh yeah. Her first three years on the force, she couldn't eat enough. And now it seems like the opposite." Rick looked amused.<p>

What Rick didn't realize is that an amused look on his face, would earn him two punches from two very strong women.  
>"Apples!" Rick screamed when Kate and Lanie's fists collided with his shoulders.<p>

Kate and Lanie were about to sit on Rick when Kate's phone rang. "Beckett" she answered out of habit, "Yes it is." Rick and Lanie watched as Kate listened, "Okay. We'll be right there." Kate turned to face Rick and Lanie, "We gotta go. Now." was all Kate said before she walked to her walk-in closet to get dressed.

Rick followed suit, and Lanie sat on the bed, since she was already dressed. Ten minutes later, Kate and Rick emerged from the closet, dressed in jeans and t-shirts.  
>Kate grabbed the Ferrari's keys, her purse, and Lanie's hand and rushed out the door. Rick had just enough time to lock and shut the door before Lanie grabbed his hand.<p>

When they made it to the cherry red Ferrari, Kate pushed Rick in the back seat and Lanie got the hint and settled herself in the passenger seat. Kate slid into the driver side and started the car. She put it in gear and peeled out of the parking garage.

They arrived at the hospital in less than half an hour.

Rick introduced himself to the nurse, and asked what he was called in for.  
>"Your mother. She's asking for you and a woman named Kate."<br>"Oh. Yeah, let's go then." Rick tried to make an exit but Kate and Lanie stopped him.  
>"Uh-uh writer-boy." Lanie said.<br>"Rick..." Kate said in a warning tone.

"Take us back." Kate said. Lanie started to hang back but Kate grabbed her arm and pulled her along. "If he tries to make another getaway I'm gonna need your help." Kate explained.

They got to Martha's room with little effort to keep Rick from running in the opposite direction.  
>"Richard - darling!" Martha exclaimed.<br>Rick was hesitant. "Mother."  
>"Rick knock it off right now." Kate said.<br>"Kate - lovely to see you dear!"  
>"Hi Martha." Kate said walking up to her.<p>

Martha put her arms out, welcoming Kate to give her a hug. Kate did just that. Kate looked at Lanie with a pleading face, and Lanie got the message. While Kate stayed by Martha, Lanie shoved Rick toward his girlfriend and mother.

Rick looked at his mother and Kate interacting and he thought, "Screw the universe, I'm getting a ring."  
>"Hi Mother." Rick said.<br>Kate pulled Rick closer to Martha.  
>"How have you been Richard?" Martha asked.<br>"Good. You?"  
>"Fine. They tell me that I have to get a new liver. And I said that was interesting."<br>"So who are you getting the liver from?"  
>"Some organ donor named Mathew something."<br>"Ah. So when is the surgery scheduled for?"  
>"In one hour."<p>

Rick dropped to the floor at this news. Kate and Lanie were at his side immediately. Lanie grabbed a stethoscope that was lying on a shelf. She put the ear buds in her ears and listened to Rick's heart. "He's fine. He just passed out." Lanie looked around the room, "Ah. Here we are." She grabbed a medium sized jar and used the sink in the room to fill it up. She walked back over to where Rick was on the floor. She motioned to Kate to stand back. Kate obeyed. Lanie stood over Rick and threw the water in his face.

Rick shot up with a gasp. He coughed a few times then managed to get up.  
>He went back over to his mother, "Is that why you wanted me here?" Martha just nodded.<p>

"Okay. So, do you need us to stay here?"  
>Martha shook her head, "I'm quite tired darling. It was nice to see both of you though, you too Lanie." Martha said. Rick nodded, Kate said okay, and Lanie smiled.<br>"Alright, well, have the doctors call us when you wake up." Kate said. Martha nodded, and shooed them out of the room.

They all said goodbye to Martha, and walked out of the room. Once they were back in the Ferrari, Rick suggested that Kate and Lanie go for a girls' day. Lanie agreed almost instantly, and Kate did the same. When they got back to the loft, Kate switched the Ferrari's keys for her Porsche's keys, and Rick handed Kate his credit card.

"You two have fun." He called as the two women walked out the front door. Once he heard Kate's Porsche pull out of the garage, he went online to the Tiffany's website. He came across a thin band ring, that had Sapphires and Diamonds embedded in the band. He thought that Kate would love it.

Since he had money, he didn't bother looking at the price, he just hit the "purchase" button. He got a message saying that they had them in stock in the nearest store. Which just happened to be five minutes away.

He grabbed his keys and ran down to get the Ferrari. He got to Tiffany's and twelve minutes later, he was back at his desk looking at the ring. "Perfect..." he said.

At five pm Kate and Lanie returned to the loft, arms clad with shopping bags. Rick heard them return and he pulled the engagement ring from the bag. He walked out and saw that Kate and Lanie were sporting brand new Gucci sunglasses. "Hey." Rick said.

Both women turned around, "Hey." they said in unison. Rick walked over to Kate before he could loose his nerve.  
>Kate saw the nervous look on Rick's face and she wasn't the only one.<p>

"Kate..." he began, "I love you more than anything. More than I every loved either of my two ex-wives. And when I look at you, I see a future. Our future. I see you, in a delivery room calling me every dirty name in the book, cursing my name. I see you walking into out brand new house, with our new baby in your arms. I see you doing a lot of things, and I want to ensure that I get that ending." He got down on one knee, and pulled out the engagement ring, "Katherine Beckett, will you marry me?"

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><p><strong>Ooh..a cliffhanger! If you guys want to see the engagement ring, here is the link - .?sku=GRP00315&amp;cid=288152&amp;mcat=148204<strong>


	18. Note

**Hey guys...haven't gotten any reviews. Did you guys loose interest in the story? I don't want to waste my time and energy if you guys aren't going to read it. I mean - yeah, I have fun writing, but I have a band. I have other things to do. If you don't like it, tell me.**

**Thanks!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys, glad to know that you all are still reading. I really didn't want to discontinue the story but, if no one was going to read it, why bother right?  
><strong>**Anyways, thanks for letting me know that you guys are still reading. You can see the ring if you want, go to the Tiffany website, then search for Shared-setting band ring, and click on the one with the sapphires and diamonds. I know it says "wedding band" on it, but hey, how much jewelry does Beckett actually wear? I mean, did you really expect me to give her some big honkin' diamond? I don't think Kate would wear it, do you?**

**CaskettFanGrl - I like to think that me, my best friend, and my four nephews (all of which make up our band) rock pretty hard. But that's just me. Our band name is Action Pact. You know, like a pact for action. We thought that it suited us.**

**Thanks for everything guys, you make my day!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, I wouldn't be writing this because I have musician's block and can't come up with a decent song, but I would be feasting on caviar and fancy french wine.  
>To your story...<strong>

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><p>Chapter 18<p>

Kate just stared at Rick like he had just spoken to her in some sort of a foreign language.  
>"I'm sorry. What?"<p>

Rick looked like he was going to pass out. "Katherine Beckett, will you marry me."  
>"Oh my god. I-I don't know what to say." Lanie was bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.<br>"Yes." Rick supplied.

Kate grabbed his arms and pulled him up, "Get up here you idiot."  
>Rick's face fell at her words.<p>

After a moment, Kate forcefully grabbed the ring from his hands. "What, do I have to put the ring on myself?" Rick looked confused, "You didn't think I would say no did you?"

Rick nodded in answer to her question. "Hmm...I hadn't noticed."  
>"So what's the answer?" Rick asked. Kate looked at him like it was obvious what her answer was, "Yes."<p>

Rick tried to pick her up, but Kate stopped him and said, "Remember what happened last time?"  
>Rick got a look on his face that neither of the women could interpret.<p>

He walked to his office and came back a minute later with a spiral notebook. The women watched as he flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.  
>"Ah. Here we go." He said as he scribbled on the page. he noticed the confused looks on Lanie and Kate's faces. He showed them the page, and pointed to the very last line on it. <em>50) Get married and make it last.<em>

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><p><strong>So, I read Castle's bucket list, and that made me think of my bucket list. I thought you guys might like to know what it says.<strong>

**1) Get Rainy her CD title  
>2) Go to Westminster<br>3) Get a championship title on a dog  
>4) Win best of show<br>5) Get a Lemur  
>6) Invent a new language<br>7) Become an official dog trainer  
>8) Get a horse<br>9) Write a book  
>10) Publish a book<br>11) Redecorate my room  
>12) Go goth<br>13) Get a tattoo  
>14) Drop 20 pounds<br>15) Learn how to swim  
>16) Don't paint my nails for a year<br>17) Get rich  
>18) Read the entire Stephanie Plum - Janet Evanovich - series<br>19) Read the entire Harry Potter series  
>20) Don't sleep for 48 hours<strong>

**And I have effectively crossed off; 11, 12, 13, and 19. I know, I suck at crossing things off a bucket list.  
>Challenge, I'm not going to post the next chapter until I get 3 reviews with that person's bucket list in it. If you want the next chapter, I must know your bucket list.<strong>

**I'm looking forward to reading the whims of my readers.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys, I only got 2 chapters with bucket lists when I wanted 3, but I'll allow it. Anyways...**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, I wouldn't be procrastinating on getting ready for a concert. Even though the concert is tonight, the prep is very intense.**

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><p><strong><strong>Chapter 20

Lanie squealed and grabbed Kate. "Come. This calls for dress shopping." And Lanie started dragging Kate out of the loft. Kate managed grab her purse before Lanie pulled her out the door and to the silver Porsche. "Bye Rick!" was what Kate managed to say loud enough for Rick to hear.

The girls made it to David's Bridal, a wedding shop that was fairly close to the loft. Kate and Lanie were there for about an hour when Kate shrieked. Lanie came rushing over and she saw what Kate had made that sound for. The dress was gorgeous. It was simple white, strapless, floor length, and had white bodice embellishments. Kate handed Lanie her phone and mumbled something about Rick.

Lanie just assumed that her best friend wanted her to call her soon-to-be husband.  
>"Kate, I didn't think you would miss me this quickly." Rick teased.<br>"It's Lanie. Get down here to David's Bridal." and Lanie ended the call.

She heard Kate calling her name, so she went to the dressing rooms. "Kate?" Lanie said. Lanie saw a door open and out walked Kate, adorned in the wedding gown. Lanie just about cried she was so happy, "Oh, Kate. Honey, it's perfect." Lanie said.

Kate went back in the dressing room, and when she came out again, she had the dress in hand, and was back in her clothes. Kate walked up to the counter with Lanie in tow and said, "Can you hold this here so we can finish looking?"  
>"Of course." The blonde woman replied. Kate watched as the woman stuck the dress beneath the counter, "Thanks." Kate said and pulled Lanie away.<br>"Now to find you a bridesmaid's dress." Lanie looked hurt, "I thought that I was your best friend." She scoffed.

Kate looked at Lanie, "Lanie, will you be my Maid of Honor?" Lanie wrapped Kate in a hug and "Of course!"

The women were combing the racks when Rick showed up, he asked the woman to point him in the direction of tuxes. "Thank you." he said. As he was walking past the bridesmaid's dresses, he heard a squeal that could only belong to one of two women. Either his ex-wife Meredith was in her, or it was Lanie. As he walked through the dresses, he hoped to god more and more that it was Lanie.

When he got closer, he was relieved to see that it was Lanie. She and Kate were holding an aqua colored floor length gown, that Rick assumed that was Lanie's dress.  
>He put his hands over Kate's eyes and said "Guess who?" Cop instincts kicked in for Kate and she grabbed the forearms of the "attacker" and put her head towards the ground, sending Rick flying over her head.<p>

Lanie started laughing at Kate's expression when she realized who she had flipped over her head. "Oh my god, Rick. I am so sorry." Kate said. Rick managed to get up off the floor on his own.

Lanie went to go handle the dresses, while Kate filled Rick in on the dress adventure.

30 minutes later, Rick, Lanie, and Kate were back at the loft. Lanie was invited to sleep over, and she gladly excepted saying something about how hard it is to get to get a cab at night. Kate showed Lanie the guest bedroom, and went back to Rick's bedroom.

The next morning was Saturday. Kate called Jenny and her other best friend Maddie, and asked them to meet her down at David's Bridal.  
>Maddie, who was always one to be early, sat down on the bench outside the door, waiting for her friends to show up.<p>

When Kate and Lanie pulled up in the blood red Ferrari, Maddie allowed herself to gawk at ate and Lanie. When Kate walked up, Maddie said, "Girl you have some explainin' to do. I take it then that you're marryin' money?"

Kate just nodded, "Who?" Maddie asked, "Richard Castle."

By the time that Maddie was done freaking out that her best friend was marrying "Richard freakin' Castle!" Jenny had just pulled up.

Now that all of the girls were here, Kate filled them all in. They walked to the bridesmaid's dresses again, and picked out 2 more dresses like Lanie's, only in the Maddie and Jenny's sizes.

Next they all headed to the accessory section. The girls found Kate a veil, and presented it to her. "Oh my god guys, I love it!" Kate exclaimed. The next thing that they found was stretch satin, white gloves, that went really well with her dress. They were all looking for shoes, when Jenny called to the girls, saying she had found the perfect pair. And perfect they were - they were white, they were Stilettos, and they had lace tops. "Thank you Jenny! They're perfect."

They had now found everything as far as Kate went, but now they had to find bridesmaid's items. The first thing they found was Lanie's Maid of Honor gloves. They were white, wrist length, and complimented her dress nicely. The gloves that they found for Jenny and Maddie, were also wrist length, but they were made out of lace.

They were now on the hunt for shoes. They found Maddie, Lanie, and Jenny, silver T-strap pumps with rhinestones covering the strap that leads down their foot.  
>They were now looking for a garter for Kate, they found that Rick had already ordered a garter for Kate. It was black lace, with embroidered shapes on it. Closer inspection from the four women revealed that the embroidery were symbols. One particular thing that was embroidered, said "NYPD, open up!"<p>

The girls had to laugh at that. Another shape was a gun, and another was a fountain pen. The garter was perfect. Lanie, Jenny, and Maddie had drug Kate to the lingerie section and were now looking at bras and frilly french undies. They had found Kate matching black lace bra and panties.

They had had enough teasing Kate for today. And were becoming serious once again. They were on the move, looking for some hair items for Kate. 15 minutes of searching had produced two products. One pack that had bobby pins that had rhinestones at the end. And another that had flowers that matched the ones on Kate's dress. They were now looking at tiaras for Kate.

It took less than ten minutes to find the perfect tiara. It was a quinceanera style and Kate fell in love with it. They were finally done, as they were going to find a bouquet tomorrow. They didn't realize that it was 4:30 pm. They had been there all day. They arrived at 9 am and have been there for almost 8 and a half hours.

Kate took out Rick's credit card and payed for everything. They asked the lady at the front desk to keep it all here for now, that they would come back for their fitting at the end of the month.

The small group disbanded and they all went home. Kate took Lanie back to the loft, and since it was so late, Lanie just stayed there again. After dinner Lanie's phone began to ring. It was her apartment building, telling her that there was a massive fire and that her apartment, along with many others, were destroyed in it.

"Hey Kate?" Kate turned at the use of her name, "Yeah?"  
>"Can I stay here for a while?"<br>"Your already here."  
>"No. My apartment, it caught fire. I need to stay here for...longer."<br>"Oh my god. Yeah sure of course, you can stay here as long as you need."  
>"Thanks Kate."<br>"No problem Lane."


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry it took me so long to update...band stuff.**

**Disclaimer: 8 am - still mad at him - he tried to act like nothin' happened; if I owned Castle, I wouldn't be cursing the name of my agent because I have to have a song to him in 24 hours, and I have nothing.**

**To your story...**

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><p>Chapter 21<p>

1:30 am; the time that Rick woke up. He had just finished in the bathroom and was heading back to bed, when he heard something moving downstairs. He walked quietly down the stairs to investigate. He saw something move and he bolted back up the stairs.

"Kate. Kate." Rick said quietly not wanting to alert the intruder that anyone was awake. But he didn't need to saw her name loudly because he knew, that with police training, came hypersensitivity to your surroundings.

Kate rolled over with her hand in a fist, ready to strike, but she saw that it was Rick. She lowered her hand and looked at the clock, "Rick it's 1:30. Why did you wake me up?"

Rick's face went from "I am freaking out" to "sorry", because he knew that Kate didn't sleep well, and that every time she did, he woke her. But it only stayed like that for a moment, "There's somebody downstairs."

Kate wasn't still completely awake so it took her a little longer to process what Rick just said, "Okay, so go check it out."  
>"But you don't understand. You're the one with the gun." he whined.<p>

Kate let out a huge breath in frustration, "Oh my freakin' god. Take my damn gun and go check it out yourself." and Kate rolled over. Rick groaned, but Kate heard Rick open the drawer that her gun was in. She heard him pull it out, close the drawer, and click the safety off.

Rick walked down the stairs, trying to be as much like Kate as possible. He got closer to the sounds, he saw from the moonlight that there was a lump on the couch. She walked closer, pointed the gun, and pulled back the blanket. As the person rose of the couch, he screamed. Before he knew it, Kate was skidding to a stop next to him. A moment later, Kate was laughing, and so was the "intruder".

Kate turned on a light, and Rick took a closer look. Upon closer examination, he discovered that it was Lanie.

"That is not funny." Rick said defensively. "Did you hear yourself scream?" Kate asked. "If you had heard yourself scream, you'd be laughin' your ass off right about now." Lanie managed through the laughter.

"Glad you think it's so funny." and Rick stalked off. He went back to bed, and when he got there, he heard the two women still laughing. He shook his head, pulled the pillow over it, and went to sleep.

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><p><strong>Sorry it's so short. I needed a little humor. If you guys have any ideas for a song about a guy cheating on his girlfriend, let me know please. I've been working on this song for three days now, with very little sleep. And to top it all off, my agent is being an ass. My life sucks right now.<strong>

**Let me know if you think of anything please.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys, I'm SO sorry about not updating. About a week ago, I came back home with my nephews, because my sister (their mom) was having some health issues. So we get back home, and (since my nephews and I are tight like that) we all ended up sleeping in my room on my bed. I was on the edge of my mattress, with Trist (the oldest) next to me and C-man (middle) on the other edge, and Drummer-boy (the youngest), was at the foot of the bed. And yes, before you think we're weird, my nephews all got nicknames for the band, that kinda stuck through life. My nickname is LaLa. So the morning after we came back home, we woke up to my sister yelling and screaming. We had heard her scream "I wanna die, just let me die already!" and so we walked out of my room, and looked around, wanting to know what the hell was going on. And we all looked to the left because we heard her screaming again. And we saw that she was on the bathroom floor seizuring. My mom was behind her sitting on the toilet (with the lid closed) making sure that Jess didn't hit her head. So mom asked me to call 911 and I did, and by the time that the CDF (because we are so far out there) she had already had 12 seizures. About 20 minutes later the ambulance finally arrived and and they took her to the hospital. But by the time the ambulance showed up she had had 21 seizures. So one of the CDF people said that she was steadily having seizures about ever three minutes. So by the time that the ambulance got her to the hospital, she had already had 63 seizures. 18 of them being grand mal. So that is why I haven't updated, but I have been working on a post-Always story, just a simple little oneshot. So that should be on here soon, but just wait a little longer and I should have a new chapter up!**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you have the patients to wait just a little longer!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys, I'm back. Been so busy with my sister, my band, and I was hired (because about five years ago I got my pro handler certificate) by several breeders to show their dogs. So it has been hectic. I just got back from a week long show up in Grass Valley last week, and am resting as much as I can before my next show up in Pleasanton... So here is the next chapter of Help Me.**

**Disclaimer: I wouldn't be booked solid for the next three months with dog shows if I owned Castle. In fact, I bet that I would be feasting on caviar and some fancy French wine right about now.**

* * *

><p>The next time Rick woke up was at 9:00 a.m. He made his way down the stairs after sitting on the bed for a while. He was met with the sight of Kate and Lanie sitting on the couch with their feet tucked beneath them, feasting on a huge box of chocolates. Both women had light makeup streaks running down their cheeks, as if they had been crying.<p>

His thought was confirmed when he reached the couch, and he heard a sniffle from Kate. It stopped him in his tracks. "What's wrong?" he asked. Lanie and Kate shared a look, but it was Lanie who spoke, "We just got a call around 8 o'clock, saying that a woman who got her wedding dress from David's Bridal, which is where Kate got her's from, who's wedding got called off, set the place on fire. And Kate's dress was in a box in the back. The whole building went down in flames, and the most that remains of our dresses is ash."

Rick looked at his girlfriend and her best friend and made a sympathetic face at them, because he knew better than to try and comfort Kate when she had Lanie. Besides, this was a girl thing. Lanie could understand way better than he could. So instead of hugging her, holding her, and letting her cry on his shoulder, he made her coffee instead. For Kate, it was just as good, if not better, than anything he could say or do for her.

After he handed Kate her coffee, Lanie gave him a look, and he retreated back to the kitchen. A moment later he reappeared at the back of the couch with another cup of coffee, and handed it to Lanie. She smiled at him, and then made a gesture that Rick took as a silent way of her saying "get lost Writer-Boy", and so he did, taking refuge in his office.

After fifteen minutes of walking around his office, he unplugged his laptop and took it to the girls, suggesting to Lanie and Kate that they start looking for new dresses. He bowed to the women, walking backwards to his office, but hit the wall instead of going through the door, and that caused Kate and Lanie to snicker at him. He made a face and slowly stepped to the right, actually making it through the doorway this time.

Kate looked at Lanie, and Lanie looked at Kate, and they both tried so hard to not laugh. Kate shook her head and opened the laptop, and typed in Rick's password. Kate didn't know the password, as Rick had never told her, but years of being a detective meant that she got good at cracking codes. She thought for a second, then typed in "apples" and voila! Rick's wallpaper popped up.

When Kate and Lanie got done silently celebrating because they got in, they made the mistake of looking at the background. It was a picture of Kate and her best friend Madison, when they were seventeen, from when they were modeling that summer. It showed Kate and Madison in skimpy tennis outfits, with bright hot pink tennis rackets swinging to hit a ball.

Kate was furious, and Lanie was offended that Rick would have something like that on there. Kate passed it off as a boy thing, and pulled up Google. She typed in wedding dresses and a whole page full of wedding stores came up. There was one name that caught Kate's eye. It was the name of the store where her mother bought her dress. She clicked on it, and since she didn't really want to wear white anymore, she chose "color dresses". She and Lanie browsed until they both gasped It was a red satin, A-line dress. It was strapless, and it had a sewn-in wrap that was held together by a silver broach that would rest under her breasts. It was perfect for Kate. It had small silver lines that ran across the bust of the dress.

"I love it." Kate said. "I do too, but now, it's time to find a bridesmaids dress." Lanie stated.


	24. Chapter 24

**Here is your new chapter. So I have some news to share, a couple of chapters ago, I explained why I wasn't updating as often as I was; which was that my sister was having major health issues. So, after my sister was transferred to Stanford, she was put in the mental ward. She was diagnosed as "mentally unstable" and they say the seizures were self induced. So...**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha. Right...(crickets chirping)**

* * *

><p>Lanie and Kate browsed the internet for well on an hour, but were interrupted by Rick. "Uh, Kate, Lanie, Alexis is on the phone. She would like to speak to you." he said in a timid voice, afraid of the consequences if he said something wrong. Kate and Lanie both made a gimme gesture and Rick slowly approached the two women with the phone. He handed the portable home phone to Kate, and retreated quickly into his office.<p>

Kate hit the speaker button and said, "Hello?" Kate and Lanie heard Alexis's voice come through the phone, "Hi Kate, it's Alexis." "Hi," Kate replied.  
>Alexis hesitated a little, "Is Lanie there with you?" Lanie answered her question, "Yes I am." Alexis nodded even though the two couldn't see her, "So, if Lanie is your maid of honor, can I be one of your bridesmaids?" Kate let out a breath, "Oh, Alexis. You don't have to ask, of course. I would love to have you as a bridesmaid." Lanie spoke up, "Honey, if you want you can take my spot as maid of honor." Alexis giggled, "Lanie, I could never boot you from being Kate's maid of honor. You're her best friend."<p>

Lanie and Kate smiled, "We're looking for dresses right now, if you would like to join us." Kate said. "Of course, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Alexis hung up, and so Kate and Lanie followed suit. The two women stopped browsing and waited for Kate's soon to be daughter-in-law to arrive.

Fifteen minutes later Alexis was planted on the couch between Kate and Lanie, looking at dresses. "Okay, so since my dress is red, I was thinking we could do like royal purple for your guys?" Kate stated.

"Or maybe we could be in sea green?" Lanie suggested. "What if we all matched?" Alexis included her opinion. Kate looked at the two women sitting to the left of her. "I like Alexis's idea. What do you think Lanie?" Lanie looked across the redhead, and over to her brunette friend. "I like it. Let's go with that."

"Okay, so it's settled. You, Alexis, Maddie, and Jenny, will all be wearing dark red, floor-length sheath style dresses. Now to decide, strapless, one strap, or straps?" Kate asked.

"I vote straps. Just 'cause it's hard to keep the girls up with no bra. Unless it's really tight, and almost stripperish. But it's a wedding so, no stripper outfits." Lanie said.  
>"What if we did it, so that each dress compliments the wearer?" Alexis added.<p>

Kate nodded, "Okay, sounds good. So what if we had the bridesmaids in order, so it went, straps, one strap, strapless?"

"I like it. So now it will be just to figure out, who would look best in what." Lanie said.

"Okay, so Lanie said she needs straps to conceal her bra. I look best in one strap than none." Alexis said. "Right, and then Jenny looks good in strapless, and then that would leave Maddison with straps. So it will go, Lanie, Alexis, Jenny, and then Maddison." Kate looked to Lanie, and then to Alexis, waiting for them to confirm that she was right.

"Yeah," and "Sounds good to me," came from Alexis and Lanie. "Okay. So it's settled. Red, Lanie with straps, Alexis with one strap, Jenny with strapless, and Maddie with straps."

Lanie and Alexis nodded in agreement. Kate clapped her hands once, "So who wants lunch?" she asked. Words of agreement came from Kate's two companions. Alexis closed the lid of the laptop, lifted it off her lap, and set it on the coffee table. Lanie got up first, followed by Alexis, then Kate. The trio headed into the kitchen to see what they could either find or make.


	25. Chapter 25

**I am SO sorry. You don't even know how sorry I am. I don't know how long it's been since I updated but, I am now, so, don't kill me? But, I am announcing that I will be setting guidelines as for when you guys get a new chapter. I will decide how many reviews I want before the next chapter. It's just that a lot of people have been reading this story, and only a couple of reviews. The last chapter that I posted I had over two hundred views, and only one, I repeat ONE review. Are you serious?**

**So, enough with my rant. You will never believe what I did last month. Not only did I go Reserve Best In Show with my Australian Shepherd, Tyson, but I bought a house. It has six bedrooms with a bathroom coming off each one.**

**Anyway, an update on my sister, she was released from Stanford, and is now living with me and the rest of my band (my nephews). She is doing really good, and I am currently training her to be my co-lead singer, as my best friend left a few months ago. She really likes singing, and the doctors say that doing things that stimulate her brain are really good for her. But enough about me, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: Going...going...going...Gone.**

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><p>Kate, Lanie, and Alexis found avocados, roasted chicken, lettuce, Sourdough bread, and mayonnaise. Using teamwork and the multitasking instinct that most women have, they concocted a roasted chicken sandwich on Sourdough, with avocado, lettuce, and mayo. They made four sandwiches, one for each of them, and one for Rick. The three of them carried the sandwiches into the living room and sat down. The women screamed for Rick to come here, and not wanting to piss them off royally, he obediently came.<p>

Lanie turned her head to look at Kate and Alexis and said, "Wow. You guys have him so well trained." Rick looked at Lanie, but she raised her eyebrow, daring him to make one smart-ass comment. He decided that it would be best if he stayed quiet, so he instead looked to Kate, "You rang?" Kate gestured to the sandwiches on the coffee table, and Rick's face lit up. He started to pick up the whole plate, but Kate, Lanie, and Alexis all made a correctional sound at him, and he immediately set the plate back down and held up his hands. Alexis held up her index finger, "One," she said slowly and clearly, making sure that he heard her correctly.

He picked one up, and started to turn around when Kate interrupted and said, "Wash your hands first." noticing how dirty his fingers were. She didn't want to know what he was doing that got his hands so dirty, but he set his sandwich back down and went to the bathroom. He turned on the water and proceeded to thoroughly wash his hands, removing as much dirt as possible. Once he was finished, he walked back out to the girls, and picked up his sandwich again. This time to be corrected by Lanie. "Napkin," she said, holding out a neatly folded fabric cloth. He took the fabric and turned around, flashing a smile at his fiance, his daughter, and his soon-to-be unofficial sister-in-law.

He retreated back to his office, thinking as he sat down, about the three women currently occupying the couch in front of his flat screen television. He thought about the impacts the three women out there watching Cake Boss, have had on his life. Alexis kept him grounded, and made him develop a little bit of a sense of responsibility and maturity. Kate made him get his head out of the clouds and get his act together, she also made him want to be a better man. And Lanie put the fear of god into him when she chewed him up one side and down the other when he screwed Kate over, which in turn made him realize exactly what he wanted.

He had a lot to thank those women for, and he planned on doing that in a special way, something that could involve all of them, including his mother. Right then he heard the door close and the voice that he would always recognize say, "Good afternoon ladies." He heard Alexis get up and hug Martha, he heard Lanie tell her how good she looked, and Kate invited her to come watch Cake Boss with them. Martha accepted, and started talking.

Kate asked her why she was out of the hospital so soon. Martha replied with, "Well, apparently I heal fast. So, here I am." The four women laughed, and settled down, occasionally voicing their opinion, but mostly staying silent.

It was then that it hit him. All four of the special women in his life loved this show called Cake Boss. It was a reality show based on a guy called Buddy and his team, who work at a bakery called Carlo's in Hoboken, New Jersey. He decided to look up the bakery and schedule a consultation with Buddy. The lady asked him if he could make it tomorrow, and Rick jumped at the opportunity.

* * *

><p>The next day, Rick got himself ready for his meeting with Buddy.<p>

He walked into the bakery, and waited at the little table the lady directed him to. He had been sitting there for just a few minutes when Buddy came around the corner. Rick stood, shook hands and introduced himself. Buddy asked what he was getting the cake for, and Rick replied with, "The four most important women in my life. My mother, my daughter, my fiance, and my fiance's best friend."

Buddy asked what they were into. Rick told him, "Well my mother is a broadway actress, my daughter studies pre-law at Columbia, my fiance is a homicide detective, and my fiance's best friend is a Medical Examiner."

Buddy looked stunned at the information Rick just threw at him. "Okay so I'm thinkin' we can do four tiers, one for each lady. We can do the bottom tier for your mother. We can do the next one for your daughter, the next for your fiance, and the next for your fiance's friend. So for your mother's tier we'll do theater things, red and gold, popcorn, those weird happy, sad masks, things like that." Rick nodded, "For your daughter, we can do textbooks, pencils, paper, rulers, calculators, you know, school stuff. For your fiance, if you can send us a picture of her badge, we can recreate that onto the cake, we can also put maybe a mini murder board, some manilla file folders." Rick interrupted, "Kate, my fiance loves coffee, so if you can find a way to incorporate that, that would be great." Buddy nodded, "And finally, for your fiance's friend, we can put body bags, gloves, some surgical tools. What do you think?"

"I love it, it sounds great. The four of them absolutely love your show, and I've been wanting to get them something special, and I thought that a cake from Carlo's Bakery would be the icing on the cake. Pun intended." Buddy and Rick laughed for a moment, "Yeah, man, I would love to. And I will do my absolute best for you and your girls."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it." Rick said. They both stood up, shook hands again, and parted ways.

On the drive back to New York, Rick thought about how surprised the girls would be. He smiled as he turned the last corner to get to his building. He saw the truck heading his way, but he couldn't react fast enough, and all he heard was the deafening sound of breaking glass and crunching metal.

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><p><strong>Now, maybe that will get you guys reviewing. I refuse to update ANYTHING until I get 10 reviews. That will get the number of reviews up to 66. Remember, no updates unless the number of reviews gets up to 66. I'm being this way because I don't know if all the people that are reading hate it, if they love it...I'm psychic guys, I don't know what you want from this story if you don't tell me. I will say it one more time, no updates until the I get 10 reviews, I repeat TEN REVIEWS!<strong>

**Good Luck,**


	26. Chapter 26

**You guys are AMAZING! I asked for 65, and I got 66. And forever-lost-in-paradise, I do write because I like it, not for the reviews, but without the reviews, how would I know what people think of this story? Would you continue writing if people constantly told you that your stories suck? The only reason I'm setting review guidelines is because I want to know what people want from this story.**

**Now, to all the other people who reviewed, thank you so much! You guys really make my day.**

**Disclaimer: (Shakes head and walks away...)**

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><p><em>Previously on Help Me:<em>

_On the drive back to New York, Rick thought about how surprised the girls would be. He smiled as he turned the last corner to get to his building. He saw the truck heading his way, but he couldn't react fast enough, and all he heard was the deafening sound of breaking glass and crunching metal._

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><p><p>

His head swam. He could distantly hear the sirens wailing. He felt a sense of panic as something settled over his mouth. He felt something squeezing his arm. He heard things beeping. He then started to drift back into the darkness, but a sudden jolt of pain in his chest brought him back to his halfway conscious state.

He started to drift back into the abyss, and he again felt pain in his chest, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

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><p><p>

Martha, Kate, Lanie, and Alexis were engaged in a fierce battle of laser tag when Kate's phone rang.

"Beckett," Kate answered in her usual manner.  
>"Is this Detective Beckett?" a woman asked.<br>"Yes it is."  
>"This is Jeanie from the New York Presbyterian Hospital. I'm calling in regards to Richard Castle. He has you down as his emergency contact."<br>"What happened?"

By now Martha, Lanie, and Alexis were on high alert, straining to hear what the other person was saying. But judging by the lines that appeared on Kate's forehead, it wasn't good.

"Mr. Castle has been involved in an accident."  
>"Oh my god, is he okay?"<br>"They just took him into surgery a few minutes ago. If you could come in, that would be great. We need some more information on him."  
>"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."<br>"Thank you."

Kate hung up and went to the closet to get her coat. She grabbed Martha's, Lanie's, and Alexis's too. She threw the coats to them, and proceeded to shed her laser tag equipment. The three other women followed suit. Kate grabbed her keys, and headed out the door saying, "Let's go, Castle's hurt."

At her words, the other women wasted no time in getting out of the loft, and into the hallway. They caught up with Kate, and when they got down to the parking garage where Kate's car was, they each pulled open a door and got in. Kate flipped on the lights and sirens, and they got to the hospital in record time.

The walked into the lobby, and made their way over to the nurse's station in the E.R. "We're here for Richard Castle." Kate said as she flashed her badge at the lady.

"Are you Detective Beckett?"  
>"Yes,"<br>"We spoke on the phone earlier. Here are the forms we need filled out. When you're done just bring them back." Jeanie said as she handed her the clipboard.  
>"Okay,"<br>"We'll get you an update on Mr. Castle as soon as possible."  
>Kate nodded, "Thanks,"<p>

The small group of worried women walked to the waiting room, where they sat in the corner, letting tears roll down their face. Kate was trying to see past the tears that blurred her vision, so that she could fill out the forms. Even though they all cried, none of them made a sound.

Kate got up twenty minutes later and handed Jeanie the clipboard, and walked back to the others.

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><p>Two uneventful hours passed when a woman in blue scrubs came out and walked into the waiting room, "Family of Richard Castle?" Martha, Kate, Alexis and Lanie stood up and walked a little closer.<p>

"I'm afraid I have some bad news."

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><p><strong>Dun, dun, dun...<strong>

**Another cliffhanger. Can we get the reviews up to 70 this time?**


	27. Chapter 27

**HOLY FREAKING CRAP! You guys are amazing! The reviews got up to 74! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but I just couldn't keep up with the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, unfortunately. I would not be handling 8 dogs this weekend if I did.**

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><p><em>Previously on Help Me:<em>

_"Family of Richard Castle?"  
>Martha, Kate, Alexis, and Lanie stood up.<br>"I'm afraid I have some bad news."_

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><p>The four women were stunned, but Kate was the first to recover, "What's wrong?" The surgeon sighed, "His spleen ruptured, and his left lung collapsed."<br>The redheads and Kate had tears in their eyes, blurring their vision. Lanie, however was going over the things that could have caused that to happen. The surgeon looked back at Kate, "We fixed the spleen and he currently has a chest tube to keep the lung inflated. Unfortunately, when we opened up his chest, we discovered that the damage to his lung is far too extensive for us to be able to fix."

The group looked bewildered at the doctor's words. Martha spoke up, "What are our options?" The surgeon looked at Martha and she said, "Well, we have two options. We can either get him a new lung and we do a transplant, or we leave the chest tube in, keep him on a ventilator, and hope that it repairs itself."

Alexis couldn't hold in her emotions any longer and tore into the woman in blue scrubs, "How the hell could you even suggest the second option? That is my father, and I'll be damned if I let you leave him there!" Kate and Lanie hurried to rein in the angry redhead. While Kate and Lanie drug Alexis back to the seats to get her back under control, Martha said, "Do the transplant. I'm sure Kate would agree, and we know that Alexis does." The surgeon nodded and walked back through the double doors, leaving the four women alone again.

Kate looked to Martha with a questioning expression. "Transplant," was all she said to the distraught detective. Kate nodded and turned to Alexis, stroking her hair, trying to get her to stop crying.

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><p>After three more hours, the surgeon came out again, and the four women flocked to her. "The surgery went well. He is in the recovery room right now. He should be waking up any time now. But before you all go in to see him, I want to warn you, he doesn't look like himself. He is very pale and has several things in casts. But the thing I want you to remember is that he should recover just fine. He will probably be back to his normal self in about four months, maybe longer."<p>

The women nodded and the surgeon made a "follow me" gesture with her fingers. She led them to Castle's room, and Martha, Alexis, Kate, and Lanie all gasped at the way Castle looked.

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><p>Rick's head swam as he became conscious again. He felt a throbbing pain in his chest and abdomen. He looked at the door because he heard voices coming from that general direction. He registered five women walk into his line of sight. He looked at each one individually. He saw an older red haired woman, a pretty brunette, a young redhead with blue eyes, and another brunette.<p>

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><p>"Oh my god, Rick!" Kate exclaimed. Rick looked at the tall one who just spoke to him, "I'm sorry, but, who are you?"<p>

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><p><strong>Okay, let's get the reviews up to 85. You guys think that's possible? And thank you to all of you who review, and again, I'm sorry I didn't update right away. Remember, 11 reviews until you can find out why Rick doesn't recognize any of them.<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated lately. I've been swamped. Anyways, here goes.**

_Previously on Help Me:_

_"Oh my god, Rick!" Kate exclaimed. Rick looked at the tall one who just spoke to him, "I'm sorry, but, who are you?"_

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><p>Kate's face fell, "Rick, it's me. It's Kate." she stumbled over her words as she failed to make sense of it all. Rick looked at her with no recognition at all, "I'm sorry but I really don't know who you are. Who any of you are. I don't even know who I am." Kate turned to Lanie, looking at her with hopeful eyes. Lanie raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.<p>

Alexis stepped forward, "Do you remember who I am?" Rick again, said no. She hung her head and stepped back to the group. The four women turned to the surgeon, who looked just as confused as they did. The group stood for a moment, until they heard a snorting sound coming from behind them.

They turned only to see Rick, trying to contain his laughter. Alexis looked at him in disbelief, Martha was shocked, Lanie was offended, but Kate...oh, Kate was furious. She crossed the room in thee strides, and smacked him. And she hit him right where it hurt, literally. She landed her fist just below his rib cage, hitting him where she knew wouldn't harm his stitches, but would cause him pain.

"What the hell Rick?" Kate all but screamed at him. Rick was laughing through the searing pain in his abdomen, "I'm sorry," he said through his fit of laughter, "I just couldn't help myself." She smacked his arm and walked out, the other three women following her, leaving Rick to laugh by himself.

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><p><strong>How was that guys? Short, I know, but the way I look at it, some is better than none. Right? Can we get reviews up to 85 this time?<strong>


	29. Chapter 29

**I know, I know, you all hate me because I'm terrible at updating. Well, here is chapter 29. Here goes nothing.**

**Disclaimer: Hangs head in shame.**

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><p><em>Previously on Help Me:<em>

_"What the hell Rick?" Kate all but screamed at him. Rick was laughing through the searing pain in his abdomen, "I'm sorry," he said through his fit of laughter, "I just couldn't help myself." She smacked his arm and walked out, the other three women following her, leaving Rick to laugh by himself._

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><p>The next day, Kate was standing at the foot of his bed looking at him. When he opened his blue eyes, he looked around, finally settling them on the woman that he knew as his fiance. "You know, I now understand why you say that me watching you is creepy." he said, taking in her appearance. Smudged eyeliner, purple rings beneath her eyes, red and tearstained face, puffy eyes, and rumpled hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.<p>

Kate didn't blink. She didn't do anything. She just stood there, watching him.

Rick's expression softened from amused to concerned. Normal Kate would have at least scoffed at him.

But this Kate...she was emotionless, hard, and calloused. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked. She didn't move, "How long have you been standing there?".Once again, she didn't do a thing. He tried again, "I can tell that you didn't sleep last night." She blinked, once. "Do you want to come lay down?" he offered. She leaned forward slightly, and it looked like she was about to take a step toward him.

He anticipated for her to fall into the lumpy hospital bed with him, but instead she turned on her heel and strode away, Stilettoes clicking on the porous tile.

He sighed, "What did you get yourself into Ricky?" he asked himself. He had really screwed up. Not only had he pissed her off royally, but he offended her, shamed her, made her look like an idiot, but most of all, he had hurt her feelings. And that hurt him.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Nurses came in periodically to check on him, bring him food and a drink, but that was it. They never stayed a minute to chat, they never asked him any new questions, they did nothing to mentally stimulate him.

He was a writer, he was curious, he needed conversation, he needed people. He needed Kate.

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><p>The next morning, Rick woke to a sleeping brunette near his left hand. He smiled, Kate had forgiven him. He shook her just a little bit, attempting to wake woman sat up quickly, revealing to him a face that he wasn't expecting, nor wanting, to see.<p>

He gasped out the name, "Meredith!"

She smiled, "Kitten, I'm so glad you're awake." Meredith yawned, "I'm sorry I fell asleep, I was just so tired."

Rick was so confused, "Why are you here?"

Meredith scoffed, "To see you."

Rick took a really good look at her for the first time that morning, "Wasn't your hair red?"

Meredith nodded, "It was dyed for a play."

"Of course it was." Rick looked at the clock, it was ten o'clock, so it was early for Meredith. He looked at the redhead-gone-brunette,

"So tell me, why are you really here?"

"To see you. I heard you were in the hospital."

Rick drew in a breath, but a sharp pain told him he took in too much too fast, "Well, I'm fine, so you can go back to L.A. There's no need for you to stay here."

Meredith shifted in her chair, "Oh, but there is."

Rick wanted to wring her neck, "Like what?"

Meredith squinted at him, "Our daughter," she answered.

Rick scoffed, "If you were really here for her, you would know that she isn't even here."

"What do you mean she isn't here? Of course she is."

Rick grinned, he had her right where he wanted her, "No, she's not. She's in D.C. with some of her friends." That would really get her, "Now, if you don't mind, i would like you to leave. Kate is due here any minute."

"So you two are still together then?"

"Yes, very much so. We are actually engaged."

"Really?"

"Yes, we are. Kate is working with Alexis on plan..."

Meredith lunged forward, "Shut up," she jerked him toward her, and sent her lips crashing against his. Rick didn't realize what was going on until she was already on top of him, trying to make him open his mouth. Rick was trying to push her off of him, but the pain rushing through his abdomen was making it increasingly difficult. The door opened and the click of heels on the tile told him that he was screwed.

"What the hell is going on?" Kate practically screamed.

Meredith pulled away, slid off of Rick, and managed to elbow him in the sternum.

Rick's eyes met a very pissed off Kate's. She turned her attention to the brunette that was draped over her fiance not five seconds ago. She grabbed the woman's shoulder and spun her around, "And you!" Kate exclaimed.

Kate was taken aback when she was met with the face of Castle's first ex-wife. "Go! Get out!" the fury in Kate's voice was enough to send Meredith scrambling toward the door.

Once she was out the door, Kate turned on Rick, "You, I can't believe you." her voice was low, but Rick could tell that she was past her limit. He looked at his fiance, and the look on her face was enough to send him scrambling for words.

"Kate, I-I can explain..."

Kate shook her head, "Save it,"

She turned on her heels and strode away, leaving Rick confused. He couldn't believe what just happened.


End file.
